This invention relates to electro-optic devices and, more particularly, to proximity coupled light valves for electro-optic line printers and the like.
It has been shown that an electro-optic element having a plurality of individually addressable electrodes can be used as a multi-gate light valve for line printing. See, for example, a copending and commonly assigned U.S. patent application of R. A. Sprague et al., which was filed June 21, 1979 under Ser. No. 040,607 on a "TIR Electro-Optic Modulator with Individually Addressed Electrodes." Also see "Light Gates Give Data Recorder Improved Hardcopy Resolution," Electronic Design, July 19, 1979, pp. 31-32; "Polarizing Filters Plot Analog Waveforms," Machine Design, Vol. 51, No. 17, July 26, 1979, p. 62; and "Data Recorder Eliminates Problem of Linearity," Design News, Feb. 4, 1980, pp. 56-57.
As is known, almost any optically transparent electro-optical material can be used as the electro-optic element of such a light valve. The most promising materials now appear to be LiNbO.sub.3 and LiTaO.sub.3, but there are other materials which qualify for consideration, including BSN, KDP, KD.sup.x P, Ba.sub.2 NaNb.sub.5 O.sub.15 and PLZT. In any event, the electrodes of such a light valve are intimately coupled to the electro-optic element and are distributed in non-overlapping relationship widthwise of the electro-optic element (i.e., orthogonally relative to its optical axis), typically on equidistantly separated centers so that there is a generally uniform interelectrode gap spacing. A copending and commonly assigned U.S. patent application of W. D. Turner, which was filed Sept. 17, 1980 under Ser. No. 187,936 on "Proximity Coupled Electro-Optic Devices", shows that the electrodes of an electro-optic device, such as a multi-gate light valve, may be fabricated on a suitable substrate and pressed against or held very close to the electro-optic element to provide what is referred to a "proximity coupling".
To perform line printing with a multi-gate light valve of the foregoing type, a photosensitive recording medium, such as a xerographic photoreceptor, is exposed in an image configuration as it advances in a cross line direction (i.e., a line pitch direction) relative to the light valve. More particularly, to carry out the exposure process, a sheetlike collimated light beam is transmitted through the electro-optic element of the light valve, either along its optical axis for straight through transmission or at a slight angle relative to that axis for total internal reflection. Furthermore, successive sets of digital bits or analog signal samples (hereinafter collectively referred to as "data samples"), which represent respective collections of picture elements or pixels for successive lines of the image, are sequentially applied to the electrodes. As a result, localized electric bulk or fringe fields are created within the electro-optic element in the immediate vicinity of any electrodes to which non-reference level data samples are applied. These fields, in turn, cause localized variations in the refractive index of the electro-optic element within an interaction region (i.e., a light beam illuminated region of the electro-optic element which is subject to being penetrated by the electric fields). Thus, the phase front or polarization of the light beam is modulated (hereinafter generically referred to as "p-modulation" of the light beam) in accordance with the data samples applied to the electrodes as the light beam passes through the interaction region. Schlieren readout optics may be used to convert a phase front modulated light beam into a light beam having a correspondingly modulated intensity profile. For example, the phase front modulated light beam may be imaged onto the recording medium by central dark field or central bright field imaging optics. Alternatively, if the input light beam is polarized, a polarization modulation to intensity modulation conversion process may be performed by passing the polarization modulated output beam through a polarization analyizer. In more generic terms, the p-modulation of the light beam is converted into a correspondingly modulated intensity profile by using "p-sensitive readout optics" to image or project (hereinafter collectively referred to as imaging) the light beam onto the recording medium.